Star Wars Rebels and Admiral Thrawn Rumors Fly

As an admitted Star Wars nerd, here’s one rumor I hope is true. Admiral Thrawn appearing on Disney’s Star Wars Rebels. Not because I want to see a favorite character in a one-off episode, but because it makes him a part of the Disney Star Wars canon.

Casual movie watchers will always question – what the hell is canon? For us Star Wars junkies, it’s the official line from LucasFilm. And when George Lucas sold to Disney, they tossed everything in the Expanded Universe out to make way for their films, books, games and however else Disney plans on squeezing cash from the franchise.

Dismissing the Expanded Universe was supposed to mean we would never see one of the best villains in Star Wars on the big screen. Grand Admiral Thrawn. Appearing in Heir to the Empire, he was the Empire’s greatest tactical genius and wreaked havoc on the New Republic.

Thrawn and Star Wars Rebels

The rumor, courtesy of Making Star Wars, is that the character will play a role in the upcoming season of the Disney cartoon as his fleet goes against the characters on the starship Ghost.

It’s a rumor, but it opens the idea that Disney is reconsidering jettisoning the Expanded Universe in its entirety. Of course, with Episode VII already out, the timeline has shifted, but the stories could be told in a new way.

It will be dependent on how old Thrawn is if he appears in Star Wars Rebels. Could he be another leader of the First Order?

Lots of ifs, but come on Disney, use Thrawn. You can toss the rest if you give us the best damn Expanded Universe character. Plus, it would open the films up to large space battles. That has been a glaring omission from Star Wars for far too long.

The good news for fans is Jason Ward of Making Star Wars has built up his credibility in the run up to The Force Awakens. He says it’s the first time a credible source has said anything about Thrawn making an appearance.